Seized by the System

“Look, you humans always have so many tricks up your sleeves,” Sir System said.

Fang Ning said, understanding, “This is normal, you know. We always need someone to sort things out. We only understand what happiness is after comparison. No system is perfect, especially not a social system with a scale this large. Systems always have bugs, and we need someone to weed them out time every now and then.”

“Uh, I assumed that you wanted to insult their authenticity, but it turns out you didn’t…” Sir System was somewhat disappointed.

“Of course not! I’ve been working as a programmer for ten years!” Fang Ning said righteously. “Before I entered the workforce, I also thought that every society should be operating perfectly. In reality, even a simple system would have countless bugs, needs maintenance, sometimes even a complete rewrite. Not to mention one that is on a larger scale, such as this social engineering system. Complaining about it won’t solve any problem. What we need to do is be patient.”

“Uh, you seem to be quite mature,” Sir System said appreciatively.

“Of course. The way to differentiate mature people from others is to see if he will attempt to solve the problems that he has raised,” Fang Ning said cheerfully.

“Eh, wait, I’ve discovered something interesting.” Sir System said suddenly.

“What?”

“Listen to the inner voice of this man…’ Sir System said.

Fang Ning listened carefully.

“Wang Dalong, do you want true freedom?”

“Who are you?”

“You don’t need to care about who I am. You only need to know that I can give you true freedom so that you won’t need to be confined to this small space.”

“What should I do?” The man sounded excited.

“It’s very simple. We’ll give you an identity as an honorary spirit. You only need to bear this mark, and any spirit will treat you as if you’re one of ours and not disturb you when you go out.”

“There’s something so beneficial? What do you need me to do?”

“Again, it’s very simple. You only need to be our liaison with humans and advocate human-spirit equality. Tell those people that if humans and spirits are equal, everyone will not need to cause hurt and suffering to each other, and we can share a world of peace together.”

“Let me think for a while.”

“You need to think it through faster. The first hundred people to be honorary spirits will receive a special prize.”

A second later, the inner voice spoke again.

“I agree with your requirements. Quick, give me that mark.”

“Very good. You’re a reasonable person.”

The inner voice stopped here.

Fang Ning was silent for a while, and then he asked Sir System, “Who was that guy?”

“He’s Uncle Long, the man that was forcibly sent to his room just now,” Sir System replied.

“This is deplorable!” Fang Ning gritted his teeth. “He can’t withstand even a little pressure, can he? How did our ancestors survive under pressure, who had to eat tree bark and sleep in the snow while defending themselves against their adversaries?”

Fang Ning looked at the wide, brightly lit hall and all the exquisite, individual rooms.

Although this was vastly different from the privileges cultivators enjoyed, but the summit did give everyone better-living conditions compared with the past.

The most of it was the limit of living area, but from the fundamental perspective, this was a decision made in reluctance. The outside world was so dangerous. If the civilians were not grouped together, how much more would the government need to spend on security and protection?

Even Sir System was tired from running around. Even if The Truth Department and other special forces in other countries teamed up, they could not handle all the special events coming at them nonstop.

To believe in conniving bullsh*t like the so-called “human-spirit equality” mentioned by the strange voice just now, it would be better to say that Wang Dalong was extremely selfish rather than saying that he was stupid.

Barring all appearances, he sold himself out and helped his enemies against his side in exchange for his own so-called freedom.

All that only for the power to walk freely in the outside world!

Even benign gods like Bodhisattva Spirit King understood that humans and spirits could not coexist. Spirits have their own domain, and humans have theirs.

Spirits could either reincarnate into a new life or live in the Land of Yin Energy. They could not enter the human domain, or else they would bring harm to all.

Humans were as attracted to spirits like fine wine was to an alcoholic. Yang Energy that humans possessed was scrumptious to spirits.

However, only a small number of unusually strong spirits could resist their urges. Similarly, alcoholics who had strong self-restraint were few in between.

“Hmph, are you angry? You just said that you’re mature just now. Can’t you accept this little discovery?” Sir System immediately mocked him.

It was not human — how possibly could he understand what Fang Ning was going through?

“None of your business!” Fang Ning said angrily. “The people I hate the most are traitors. Most of the time, it is they who do the most damage to their side. Without them, their enemies could only destroy 30% of them; with them, their adversaries could completely decimate them. Pity that all sorts of people appear when society expands. A perfect society does not exist; there are always losers like them. I didn’t expect that there will be people who jump on the opportunity to betray their side even in this situation when it’s still quite peaceful. They haven’t been under life-threatening situations or financial duress, too. If they had, they probably would spill everything and anything!”

“Uh, your lengthy tirade surprised me. I assumed that a fellow like you, who lazes around and plays all day, would not care about outside matters,” Sir System said with surprise.

“You’re wrong. It’s exactly because of my personality that I dislike people like this more. It’s their existence that threatens the life that I lead,” Fang Ning said angrily.

“Oh, I see. What do you want to do, then? Inform Old Ren and his officers?” Sir System asked.

“We’ll do that later. We’ll only visit here occasionally, so they can’t count on us to conduct anti-spy investigations for the long run. I want to see if the current governing model of the humans, combined with the social management methods run by the management chips, could succeed in catching those people in the act,” Fang Ning said coldly.

“Oh, if that’s so, we’ll take a look here after two days. Let’s get down to business first,” Sir System pressed.

“Fine. I’m almost done anyway. I’ve already understood their management methods,” Fang Ning nodded.

So, Vigilante A left the building while invisible, and walked out from the Land of Heritage through the tunnel.

…

In the residence of Monk Zhi Nan, on the planet 600 light years away from Earth.

Three unexpected visitors suddenly appeared in his stone cottage — the Three Wise Men, also known as Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

“Devil, devil. Spirits are devils, and devils are spirits. Lord Devil Saint, we have not seen each other for a long time. How are you?” Golden-masked Man greeted politely.

“Oh, it’s the three of you. Devil Saint is I, but I am not a devil saint,” Zhi Nan answered, his hands put together.

“Haha. I heard that Lord Devil Saint has converted himself to Buddhism. Now I see that this is real. Countless strange things really do happen in the vast universe. It’s me who’s been ill-informed. Master Zhi Nan, please forgive me for the previous offense,” Golden-masked Man apologized, holding out his clasped hands.

“It’s forgiven. What sort of wisdom do the three of you wish to bestow upon me during your visit?” Monk Zhi Nan answered politely.

“Rumor says that Lord Devil Saint has constructed quite a business here. We’re here to learn from you?” Golden-masked Man said very politely.

“Learn from me? There is no shortcut; you only need to be earnest,” Monk Zhi Nan said expressionlessly.

“I see. Thanks to your benevolence, billions of devils will have good fortune. The people in the World of Spirits are still struggling for survival though. I wonder if Master is willing to offer your assistance?” Golden-masked Man said earnestly.

“You’re working for the Devil Lords, scheming to absorb vitality from Planet Earth to fill the gap in the World of Spirits. Please forgive me for being unable to assist you in completing such selfish measures,” Zhi Nan said steadfastly.

“Haha. You’ve wrongly accused us, Master. We were stupid in the past, unable to see through the Heavenly Axiom. Now we want to follow in your footsteps, Master. Are you willing to close the door of convenience on our faces and let us take the last resort of violence?” Golden-masked Man begged.

Zhi Nan fell silent, seeming to think about it.

The Bronze-masked Man suddenly could not stand it. He said, “Brother, why are we still talking with this stupid monk? Just force him to give us the methods of vitality conversion and this planet. Otherwise, we’ll summon the incarnation of the Devil Lord and demolish him!”

Golden-masked Man’s veins threatened to burst at his words. The people from Earth were not wrong to say that this was the spitting image of a lousy teammate!

“Enough!” Black Robe stood in front instantly. “You dare to threaten us in front of my Mentor? I will not stand for this!”

“Hahahaha!” Bronze-masked Man laughed wildly. “You, a mere incarnation of an artifact, dare to talk against me? You don’t know your limits! If it weren’t for your relationship with the Devil Lord, you would’ve been dead by now!”

Black Robe was trembling due to anger. His eyes glinted as if something was threatening to crawl out from them.